Why would anyone commit murder during the day in midtown Manhattan?

The suspects in this week's notorious Columbus Circle shooting were either brilliant or boneheads

An unidentified gunman, left, approaches Brandon Lincoln Woodard a moment before the fatal Dec. 10 shooting in midtown Manhattan.
(Image credit: AP Photo/New York Police Department)

On Monday, Brandon Lincoln Woodard, a 31-year-old law student and apparent bon vivant, was killed with a single shot to the back of the head during an alleged broad-daylight execution on the streets of midtown Manhattan. The suspects — one gunman and one getaway driver — allegedly waited for Woodard near Columbus Circle, shot the victim as he walked by, and then absconded into the streets in a rented Lincoln MKZ.

The motive of this crime is still quite murky, but really, the whole scheme is baffling. How did the killers know they wouldn't get stuck in traffic? Anyone who has ever driven in Manhattan knows that the specter of gridlock is omnipresent. How did the suspected murderers know they wouldn't peel off only to find themselves immediately stuck behind a tangled, honking mass of taxicabs? Also, aren't there, uh, less conspicuous ways to off a guy than by shooting him in the middle of the day in one of the busiest places in America? Were these the dumbest criminals in New York — or incredibly savvy killers? "You can characterize it as either being brazen or foolhardy," says police commissioner Ray Kelly.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up